President El-Sisi Meets FAO's Director-General

Today, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAO, Dr. Qu Dongyu, and his accompanying delegation. The meeting was also attended by Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, El-Sayed El-Quseir.

Spokesman for the Presidency, Counselor Dr. Ahmed Fahmy, said that during the meeting the two sides confirmed mutual appreciation of the longstanding partnership between Egypt and FAO, which is reflected in the multiple development projects in the fields of agriculture and food as well as the signing of the New Country Programming Framework between them for 2023-2027. FAO’s Director-General expressed his profound regard for the remarkable urban, agricultural and industrial development that he has witnessed during his current visit to Egypt. He stressed FAO’s commitment to continuing and intensifying cooperation with Egypt.

The meeting tackled the global food crisis, primarily the repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, on Egypt, which is one of the world’s largest importers of grains. President El-Sisi emphasized that Egypt seeks to radically overcome this challenge, by achieving a significant growth in agricultural land and the adoption of vertical farming methods based on scientific and technological research to improve productivity. The President pointed out the mega agricultural projects which are currently being implemented by the state to achieve this goal. He added that these projects have already yielded hundreds of thousands of new feddans in production, and are set to reach a total of 4 million feddans within the current and coming years.

The FAO Director-General said he and the organization are closely following the Egyptian experience in agricultural development, both what has been achieved and what is still being implemented. Dr. Qu Dongyu underscored his keenness on strengthening the ongoing cooperation between Egypt and the organization in this regard, so as to support Egypt in its efforts to achieve its ambitious goals of improving food security for the Egyptian people.

The meeting also focused on the situation in the Gaza Strip and the catastrophic humanitarian conditions which caused widespread starvation in the sector. The President reviewed Egypt’s extensive efforts to deliver desperately-needed humanitarian aid and assistance into the sector by land and air to provide relief to the people of Gaza. FAO’s Director-General expressed deep appreciation for Egypt’s historical role, which is characterized by the highest levels of responsibility and selflessness. He also offered an overview of FAO’s efforts in this regard, affirming the UN organization’s commitment to providing all forms of support to Egypt's efforts to ensure the flow of humanitarian aid and relief to the people of Gaza.